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<br />Mr. Witt agreed and gave an example of how Project Impact in Vermont has encouraged <br />communitywide planning. <br /> <br />Dav.'d R Conrad, National Wildlife Federation, echoed several points made earlier: <br /> <br />. The public education process is working and needs to be bolstered. The public eye has been <br />('pened to floodplain management principles, and there is recognition of the natural and <br />t eneficial functions of the floodplain. <br /> <br />. NFIP standards need to be modernized; in particular, the components of the CRS need to <br />move into standard practice. <br /> <br />. He supports zero-rise or low-impact floodway standards. <br /> <br />Mr. .'Vitt mentioned several examples in which the press showcased floodplain management and <br />miti~:ation success stories. He also shared that soon the USACE will become a Project Impact <br />partrer. <br /> <br />Phil Oshida, Environmental Protection Agency, said he was in favor ofFEMA' s efforts to <br />supp Jrt local prevention planning and increased funding to Project Impact communities. He also <br />sugg~sted that more incentives and rewards be provided for local communities for flood <br />prevc:ntion planning and mitigation activities. <br /> <br />Mr. lVitt responded that it is very important to involve Federal partners, including EP A, USACE, <br />the V.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUn), and the U.S. Department of <br />Tran;portation (DOT), in floodplain management, environmental protection, and Project Impact. <br />Perhaps in the future, Congress could fund a Community Development Block Grant program for <br />high-risk communities. <br /> <br />Kenneth Ford, National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB), thanked Mr. Witt for the <br />colla Joration between FEMA and NAHB during the previous years, in postdisaster as well as <br />predisaster mitigation, through the development of the model building codes. He did suggest, <br />howl'ver, that there are sti\l gaps in the NFlP regulations, such as crawl-space construction and <br />the fiustrating timelag in promulgating new or revised regulations for new methods of <br />cons1 ruction. <br /> <br />M Rita Hollada, Flood Insurance Producers National Committee, opined that realtors <br />undelmine the principles of the program by promoting development in coastal barrier zones as <br />wellls widespread use ofLOMRs and Letters of Map Amendment (LOMAs). She urged <br />lenders to start adhering to redlining on coastal barrier zones. <br /> <br />ChrMopher P. Jones, American Society of Civil Engineers, encouraged the practice of treating <br />coastal A zones more like V zones and less like riverine A zones. <br /> <br />Floodplain Management Forom <br /> <br />16 <br />